“An 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan on Friday, the strongest ever recorded in the country and one of the largest anywhere in the last century. The quake churned up a devastating tsunami that swept over cities and farmland in the northern part of the country and set off warnings as far away as the West Coast of the United States and South America.” [New York Times]

Kyodo said that “…at least 137 people died and 531 others were missing as of 12:30 a.m. Saturday following a powerful earthquake that rocked the northeastern and eastern regions of Japan on Friday afternoon…Meanwhile, around 200 to 300 bodies were found in Sendai's Wakabayashi Ward. Officials of the ward facing the Pacific Ocean said almost all of the approximately 1,200 households within a district where a tsunami alert was issued were affected by tsunami waves. Several hundred other people were injured across an extensive area of Japan, the police said….” [Kyodo/Factiva]

Jiji Press reported that, “…a total of 25 countries ranging from the United States and France to China and Russia offered assistance to Japan after a strong earthquake hit the east of the country Friday, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto said. According to the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 35 international rescue teams are on standby and ready to leave for Japan as soon as requests come from Japan.” [Jiji/Factiva]

Dutch news agency ANP writes that “…the World Bank is ready to help the Japanese Government and the Japanese people with the recovery efforts, according to World Bank President Robert Zoellick. ‘On behalf of the World Bank Group I would like to express our deepest sympathies to the people of Japan, especially to those who have lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunamis,’said Zoellick. The World Bank is also looking at the impact on surrounding countries.” [ANP/Factiva]